The Road to Pellias
by Freddo
Summary: In 2202, the Star Force's journey towards the Planet Pellias continues as strange enemies continue to pursue the Argo and her crew in this AU tale.
1. Chapter 1

ALTERNATE TALES OF THE STAR FORCE

STAR BLAZERS---THE ROAD TO PELLIAS

Being the fourth part of THE RIKASHA INCIDENT--- BY: Frederick P. Kopetz

* * *

ACT ONE--THE JOURNEY CONTINUES

* * *

I. YET MORE MEMORIES

The Dalkrandia System

Space Battleship _Argo_

Aft Observation Deck

Tuesday, January 12, 2202

1902 Hours-space-time

* * *

Commander Mark Venture stood alone on the aft observation deck, his mind lost in the past.

Trelaina, he thought. _It must be my unique accursed destiny. Why must so much of this journey remind me of you?_

he thought. 

He closed his eyes again. "It seems like yesterday, really. There we were, together, and then you sent me back to my duties. Twice, you did that to me. Now, someone else is calling to Paul Rosstowski. She says she loves him. Should I be happy for him, or should I warn him away?"

"And what about me?" he said out loud. "Should I remember you forever, or should I move on? How should I handle this?"

Mark, said a quiet voice in his mind._ Mark!_

said a quiet voice in his mind.

Venture looked up, and looked out at the stars.

Then, his eyes widened as an outline began to appear.

"_Trelaina!_" he said in awe.

"Yes, Mark," replied the ghostly vision. "I can be here for you, but not for long. I have watched over you, but it has been decreed that I must pass on and embrace the destiny that awaits me."

"Then…you have?"

"As you know it, Mark, I have passed on, yes," she said sadly. "I can be with you for a short time. I told Nova and Derek that a part of me would remain with you, them, and with Earth. As I must pass on, that part of me must be memories…and the example I left."

"I thought you loved me," sobbed Mark.

"Oh, I do, my darling. No one can have a greater love than to lay down his life for his friends…or for hers. Had I not given my life, you would not now be alive, nor would your Earth be free."

"Trelaina," he said with closed eyes.

"Do you remember the night you met your friend at Heroes' Hill…when you were thinking of me? My voice was the one which told you to look at her, and to look on."

"Why?"

"Because we cannot be together again for a long, long time. You have your destiny; I have mine. And she is beginning to care for you, Mark."

"Holly?" he asked.

Trelaina smiled softly and nodded.

"It's not…well…decent. Not so soon, Trelaina."

"Take as much time as you need. Nova and Derek took time. But please don't take forever. Neither of you have that long. And, Mark..."

"Yes?"

"Do not begrudge Paul and Aliscea their destiny. They must walk a different path than we did. In some ways, it will be a harder path. But, she does not mean to hurt him, as I did not mean to hurt you. You must be strong, Mark. For yourself. For Earth. For Holly, and for Captain Wildstar."

"Derek?"

"Derek will soon pass through a painful test of his own. You will have to be there for him. I cannot say more."

"Thank you, Trelaina," said Mark. He looked hard at her and sighed. "So…this is?"

"Goodbye, Mark. At least for now. At least…for what you call this life."

He shut his eyes again. "Goodbye…Trelaina," he said in a deep voice that was about to crack.

"Mark, please do not mourn forever," said Trelaina's soft voice. "That is my final request to you. Look on…and live. Farewell, Mark. I do love you."

Venture stood there for a long time with his eyes closed. When he opened them again, space was empty. She was gone.

Venture bowed his head and saluted. "Goodbye, Trelaina. He looked out at the stars for a moment and then said, "Wherever she has gone, please care for her. And, please grant me strength. I'm going to need it…to live with this."

Everything was silent for a time. Then, the doors whizzed open.

"Holly…uh...how are you?" smiled Venture.

"Fine. Are you all right, Mark?"

"I'm fine."

"Good. I was sent to look for you. Some people are worried."

"Like whom?'

"Like…Nova…and like me."

"Well, I'm quite all right," he smiled. "I was up here watching the stars; a little after-dinner treat."

"The noodles were horrible today; weren't they?"

"Yeah. I could use some good Italian food, Holly. I miss it. What do you think of those stars?"

"It looks like we're on the edge of a nebula."

"We are. It could make navigation difficult."

"But it is pretty to look at; isn't it?"

"It is, Holly. It sure is."

"Mind if I watch with you for a while?"

"No, not at all. I think I'd rather like it," smiled Mark.

Holly stood beside him. "That Lieutenant Tyson was quite a tease back there on Triton; wasn't she? Quite a kidder?"

"She sure was," said Mark.

"Do you think…?"

"Think what?" smiled Mark.

Holly blushed. "She said…we made a lovely couple. Isn't that…_silly_?"

"Well," said Venture during a long pause. "Maybe…maybe, it's not quite as…"

The klaxons suddenly began to go off. "_All hands to battle stations! All hands to battle stations! Unknown vessel approaching! Approaching at high…_"

Mark and Holly looked at each other and then stood aghast as a three blinding blue energy blasts whizzed in past the yardarm, missing the _Argo_ by just a few meters.

"Damn!" snapped Venture. "Those look like beams from an Earth vessel!"

"I think we're about to meet some so-called friends," replied Holly.

Together, they ran off.

As they ran on and on towards the bridge, the enemy vessel fired again. This time, the shots came in closer…but they were still misses.

However, they were _near misses_.

Near misses that were far too close for comfort.

* * *

II. A HIT-AND-RUN RAID

The Dalkrandia System

Space Battleship _Potemkin_

First Bridge

January 12, 2202

1936 Hours-space-time

* * *

"We've got her on radar, Prophetess," said a young, scarred man in rags at the cosmo-radar of the otherwise new space battleship _Potemkin_. The battleship, like the rebuilds and new construction of her mates of the _Jamaica class_, now had a full set of bridge stations and controls like those of the _Andromeda_ class.

"What is her speed?" asked Yvona Josiah, who as leader of her cult, had taken for herself the torn jacket, belt, and cap of Captain Ivan Petronovich, the commander of the _Potemkin_. Her cultists had killed him at his desk while he had been doing paperwork aboard his new command.

"Twenty-four," said the radar officer, who was named Dan Conklin. At least he had been in his previous life. He now called himself Caleb.

"What is her maximum speed now, Jared?" demanded Yvona of her second-in-command of the cult.

"You mean her possible maximum speed, Prophetess?" asked the former EDF officer, who now wore fatigues.

"Yes, the speed of the _Argo_. The speed of the ship we just fired upon, you idiot!" she snapped.

"You know, ma'am, we've just declared war on Earth for sure with this move," said the ship's XO, a religious fanatic named Rey Haverford who shared some of the cult's aims. Although not a cult member, he had allowed a few separatists within his ship's crew to help him and Yvona's cult gain control of the ship. "This isn't wise. Chicago was a good move, but we should be looking for a new planet to set up our perfect society on, not tweaking the nose of the greatest battleship that Earth has."

"I want a provocation!" snapped Yvona. "I want a battle, and I want my niece killed! She's on that ship, the little trollop!"

"Is this a reason for an attack? This ship had an honorable name once-named after a famed space battleship lost in 2193…"

"Ma'am, the _Argo's _coming about," said Caleb. "Speed…twenty-five."

"I've heard she might have been refitted with an _Andromeda_-class engine. We're outgunned, and she can outrun us, and she has planes," said Haverford. "You had Joshua fire the guns twice to harass her. We've made our point, Prophetess! I advise you to withdraw. I said this ship had an honorable name, once. Well, we've disgraced that name _forever_, now. Stop this!"

A moment later, three beams roared in towards the stolen battleship.

"Evasive!" snapped Haverford. The _Potemkin_ rolled over to avoid the first barrage from the _Argo._

"They're launching planes," said a young woman with the cult name of Naomi who was now the ship's tactical radar officer. She had an EDF officer who had resigned her commission six months ago under questionable circumstances; the reason for her resignation lay crying on her knee as she worked and tried to nurse the child through the tattered macramé' vest she wore above her tattered skirt. "Looks like there's one squadron coming at us from RGH-123…and I have six more blips coming in from RGI-103."

"Fire one more barrage, Joshua!" snapped Yvona. "Then, warp us out of here, Haverford!"

"Fire main guns!" ordered Joshua, who was the ship's new combat group leader. He was the officer who had gotten Naomi pregnant and he had resigned under threat of a court-martial, as had Naomi.

The _Potemkin_'s guns fired again. The bridge crew cheered as a close-up picture on the quad screen showed a rosette of fire blowing out of the _Argo'_s port side above the third bridge.

A moment later, the _Potemkin_ herself shook from a hit. A member of Hardy's squadron had just pumped a missile into the ship.

"Ma'am, our port side launch tube's been hit," said Noah, the ship's Mechanical Group Leader. He was an old EDF man who had been cashiered in 2198 for insanity during the Gamilon War. The ship shook again. "The wave gun director's been hit."

"Yeah," said Bryan Hartcliffe outside in his Tiger as he flew over the ship's bow. "Got ya where it hurts, mate!"

"Haverford, get us out of here," said Yvona.

"Main engine, power up to 120," said Haverford. "Release the overrides again…we can risk it" snapped the officer as he sat down at the helm. "All hands, prepare for warp in sixty seconds."

* * *

On the _Argo_, Captain Wildstar said, "Dash, call in the Black Tigers. Orion, stop all engines. I'm ending this game fast, and I'm ending it now."

"Yessir," said Orion. "Stop all engines."

The _Argo_'s engines stopped.

"Orion, transfer all energy to the wave motion gun."

"Aye," said Orion.

* * *

"Forty-five seconds to warp," said Haverford. "All hands, secure for warp!"

"Yes, we're getting away," smiled Yvona. "Nova, I hope you're dead. I hope you were in the part of the ship we hit. I hope you're frozen meat in space, you little creep."

* * *

"Course and speed unchanged," said Nova from her post. "She's still coming right for us."

"Dash, release the safety lock," said Derek over the increasing whine of the wave motion gun.

"Releasing safety lock," said Dash.

"Energy level is at sixty percent," said Orion. "Sixty-five percent!"

* * *

"Twenty seconds to warp," said Haverford. "Yvona, strap yourself in, for God's sake!"

"God will protect me," smiled Yvona from her seat. Beneath their view, she tied herself down with a hank of rope.

* * *

"Power level is at eighty percent," said Orion.

"All hands, ready anti-flash goggles," said Captain Wildstar as he pulled his own goggles on.

"We'll be ready to fire in twenty seconds," said Dash.

* * *

"three…two…one," said Haverford. "Just in time...**_warp!"_**

The _Potemkin_ faded away in a blast of multicolored light.

* * *

"Power level is at ninety percent!" said Orion.

"_What?_" cried Nova. She stared hard at her radar through her goggles. "Derek! They're off my scope! They've _warped_!"

"What? Dash! Orion! Abort firing sequence!"

The roar of the _Argo_'s wave gun suddenly went silent.

* * *

"Warp completed," said Haverford as the _Potemkin_ faded back into existence near Barnard's Star. "Prophetess! What's the big…"

"Silence!" screamed Yvona as she began to beat their ship's helmsman with her staff. "I didn't give you the order to warp us out of there! You do that again, and I'll have you crucified, you fool! IDIOT! Blasphemer! Scum! You are all _scum_!" screamed Yvona. "_SCUM!_"

The scuttlebutt I heard is right! thought Haverford. _She is crazy. Ungrateful witch! I just saved our lives!_

thought Haverford.

* * *

"No sign of the _Potemkin_," said Nova few minutes later. "Captain, they're out of the sector altogether. They're gone."

"We almost had them," snapped Derek. "_Damn_!" he said as he banged his console with both fists.

"Well, now I know one thing," said Dash.

"What's that?" asked Venture.

"Now I think I know how Desslok felt all those times he didn't get us," said Dash as he took off his goggles.

"Speaking of _him_," said Wildstar. "Homer, did you ever have any success raising him?"

"No, sir. All the Gamilon frequencies are quiet."

"Hmm," said Nova. "I'm picking up something floating towards us. Switching to video panel."

The panel switched, and the crew stared open-mouthed at the wreckage. "Gamilon destroyers!" said Venture.

Wildstar shut his eyes and then studied the wreckage. "Three of them. Nova, scan the area for anything larger."

"Yessir," she said.

"Maybe if we send someone out to recover their flight recorders we could find out what happened," said Sandor. "We did it once before on the way to Iscandar, remember?'

"Yes, when we wanted to confirm that our delayed action rockets got the tanker on Beemira," recalled Wildstar. "It was one heck of a job translating their technical data, but…"

"There's no other wrecks in the area," said Nova.

"Dash, send out an assault boat escorted by two fighters," said Captain Wildstar. "Sandor, get IQ-9 up here. We need him to scan for one of those Gamilon black boxes."

"Yessir," said both men.

* * *

A while later, IQ-9 was at the Analysis station, scanning space near the wreckage. "One flight recorder found at RPG-231," he said.

"Homer, tell the boat to head towards RPG-231," said Derek.

"Roger," said Homer. He transmitted the order, and the boat went out and made its pickup.

"Captain, they're on their way back," said Homer a few minutes later.

"Good."

"Wildstar, it's going to take us a while to analyze the results from that black box," said Sandor. "As a matter of fact, we may not have results until tomorrow evening."

"If I can ask, why would it take so long?" asked Rosstowski.

"Well, it's because the data contained in that recorder is going to be in the Gamilon language," said Sandor. "What's more, it'll also be coded so that random parties can't just read their data and learn about their fleet units. Luckily, we do have experience in decoding Gamilon ciphers and codes from the war, and we have a program which can decode their language. But, this'll take some time. Hence, it probably won't be ready until tomorrow."

"Tomorrow," said Dash. "How close are we going to be to Pellias tomorrow?"

"If all goes well, about another one hundred and fifty lightyears closer," said Venture.

"Then we'll be halfway to that planet," mused Derek. "I wonder what we'll find then?"

"Can't we discuss this over dinner tomorrow night?" suggested Nova. "Derek, we haven't had a Captain's table discussion yet on this voyage."

"It's been so short, Nova," said Derek. "And the last time we had such a discussion, we were halfway to Telezart."

"You'll pardon me, sir, I'm a little lost," said Rosstowski.

"Me, too," said Parsons. "I haven't been on the bridge on this mission…I've heard those dinners are for the top officers? And what do you do?"

"It's a tradition Captain Avatar started on the cruise to Iscandar," explained Derek. "We had our first one in 2200 when we were almost at Balan, our halfway point to Iscandar. I had another one in October of last year when we were halfway to Telezart. At that sort of dinner, we eat together, and it's sort of a round-table discussion. The usual bridge crew is invited, along with Doctor Sane, the Chaplain, the Flight Group Leader, and any other Group Leaders. Of course, Hemsford would be there, too."

The bridge doors whizzed open and Doctor Sane came in. "I overheard the conversation. I believe we're having a Captain's Table tomorrow night?"

"Yes, provided we don't have any more battles," said Captain Wildstar. "Of course, we can break out whatever vintage of wine you've got stored up. For medicinal purposes, of course."

"Yes, for medicinal purposes," smiled Sane.

"I'll see to the preparations," said Nova.

* * *

III. AT THE CAPTAIN'S TABLE

System XL-5

Space Battleship _Argo_

Aft Observation Deck

Wednesday, January 13, 2202

1934 Hours-space-time

* * *

"Well, we're all here," said Derek the next evening as he sat at the head of a long table in the _Argo's_ main messhall. The table was covered with white linen, and a mess steward was pouring him a glass of wine. Venture sat at his right, while Nova sat at his left. Captain Wildstar looked a little uncomfortable; he had remembered tradition and was sitting at the table with his cap on, for once. Nova smiled at him as the steward poured her wine. _Now you really look like the Captain that you are, Derek! _she thought.

Derek smiled and said, "Everyone…I'd say that, given the past twenty-four hours, that's something of an accomplishment that we're all still here."

"Was there really a sub around at 1300?" asked Conroy, who had reassumed command of the Flight Group this morning.

"The time radar said so," said Nova. "But by the time we came to stations, it was gone."

"Was it R'Khell?" asked Hemsford.

Captain Wildstar nodded.

"Told you we could never trust those suckers, sir," said the big Marine. He reached up to his knitted head covering for a moment.

Conroy looked on with some interest. "If I can ask, what's that?'

"My head covering," said Hemsford. "I don't wear it all the time, just now and then for these formal things. It's a Muslim thing, you see."

"Okay…thanks," smiled Conroy.

"Don't be embarrassed, son," said Rabbi Greenberg, the ship's Chaplain. "I'm sure you've probably had questions about this thing on my head," he said, pointing at his yarmulke.

"Well, I know it's a yarmulke," said Conroy.

"Where's yours?" whispered Dash to Homer with a good-natured elbow.

"I only pull mine out during High Holy Days," said Homer with a smile.

"You know, that almost sounds perverse," said Dash.

"What?" asked Homer.

"Just the way you said it," chuckled Dash.

"Isn't _anything_ sacred to you?" demanded Homer.

"Hey, I don't take this so seriously," said Dash. "I left my faith back in the underground cities when the bombs started to fall, hating to sound cynical, of course."

"So what did you get raised as when you were a child?" asked Rosstowski.

"Don't want to get into it," shrugged Dash. "I mean, didn't half of our problems in the past few days come from religion in some form or another? And shouldn't we cut this out?"

"Should we?" asked Doctor Sane. "I mean, here we are, and as I understand it, Yvona and her friends and these Rikashans and R'Khells are religious fanatics of some kind. Do you think they have some warped form of the same warped faith?"

"That's a surprise, hearing you talk like that," said Venture. "We all believe different things. I've never even talked to most of you about it. I believe in live and let live. Right?"

"Right," said Rabbi Greenberg. "Now, I'm sure no one here believes in forcing someone to convert to his or her beliefs by force, or in killing in the name of their beliefs. We know Yvona and her cult hates everyone who is not a White Anglo-Saxon Protestant of their belief system, which is a warped form of Christianity."

"A strange, sick form of Christianity where Yvona is the new herald of the Messiah, or so they believe," said Nova.

Captain Wildstar tapped at his glass with a knife. "Guys, this is getting a little deep. No offense meant, but maybe we should change the subject?"

"Just let me finish making this point, sir," said Greenberg. "They consider the rest of us to be heretics, heretics worthy of death, both because of our beliefs and because Earth took aid from aliens like Starsha, Trelaina, and Desslok. Likewise, the R'Khells surely believe in killing in their name of their faith, which seems to be some polytheistic worship of some war god. Captain Wildstar, don't the Rikashans believe in the same thing?"

"Yes, but I'm not sure that Cha'rif is as fanatical as the others…yet. At any rate, I don't think his truce is holding out. It could be that the R'Khells were after us again. The Time Radar transmission showed that they fired a big spread of torpedoes…"

"But was it at _us_?" asked Sandor.

"You've got a point," said Wildstar.

"And surely Yvona and the R'Khells can't be working together," said Venture. "Their beliefs seem to be diametrically opposed to each other."

"It's been quiet for the past day," said Derek. "We'll keep our eyes open, but shouldn't we drink a toast for a peaceful trip to Pellias?"

Everyone nodded. Their glasses went up. Nova reached over and clinked glasses with Derek.

Everyone called out, "A toast to a successful mission!" and then drank.

A moment later, Royster and IQ-9 came in.

"Yes?" asked Derek as he turned around.

"Sir, Sandor…we've finished analyzing the Gamilon flight recorder. Would you follow us?"

"Thanks, Sergeant. Good food," said Derek with an apologetic glance at the steward. "All right, dinner's over, everyone. Sandor, Venture, Conroy, Nova, follow us. The rest of you, return to your posts and relieve the duty crews. Rosstowski, you're the Officer of the Deck for tonight. Get some coffee and take your post now."

"Yessir," he said with a confident salute.

"Nova," said IQ-9 as he trundled up.

"Yes?" she asked.

"Too bad you didn't wear that dress to dinner. It looked really nice on you."

"Is this supposed to be a compliment?" she asked.

"Well, your legs are gorgeous."

"Uhmm…yeah," said Nova with a deep blush, wishing for a moment that she had on a pair of bellbottoms. Preferably _very_ loose ones. "Don't we have somewhere to go?"

"I'll go through those doors for you and open them."

"I think that's the Captain's job," replied Nova as she pointedly took Derek's arm. "Come on…"

"Party-pooper," said IQ-9 in his tinny voice.

"You mind cooling it?" snapped Derek. "_Sheeesh_!" he said as he and Nova walked out the automatic door together.

* * *

TO BE CONTINUED WITH ACT TWO: _The Fate of the Gamilons?_

* * *


	2. Chapter 2

**ALTERNATE TALES OF THE STAR FORCE**

STAR BLAZERS---THE ROAD TO PELLIAS

Being the fourth part of THE RIKASHA INCIDENT--- BY: Frederick P. Kopetz

* * *

ACT TWO--THE FATE OF THE GAMILONS?

* * *

I. DESSLOK'S THOUGHTS

The Paravendi System

The Gamilon Fleet

Command Cruiser _Gamilstadt_

Main Bridge

Wednesday, January 13, 2202

2014 Hours-space-time **(Earth equivalent)**

* * *

"Talan, has there been any further word from the rearguard destroyer squadron in the Dalkrandia System?" asked Leader Desslok. 

"None, sir. We have not heard from them for over two days, Leader Desslok."

"I thought Captain Harvna was better than that. I thought he could take care of a few enemy space submarines with three destroyers. I think I overestimated him, Talan. So…three more ships lost. Tell me, Talan. How many ships are left in this fleet, and what could we call upon for reinforcements? I know that we don't have many ships left."

"We don't, sir," said Talan as sweat ran down the back of his neck. "The Empire has declined greatly since the days when we controlled thirty-four planets, Leader Desslok, ruled over billions, and had thousands of warships at our disposal."

"I know we had nothing under our centralized control for the period between the fall of Gamilon up until the time my territorial fleets reported to me after Zordar commissioned me to track down the Star Force. For my memory, how many worlds are under our control again?"

"Four, sir. Garalenda, of course, Miralden, Terukon, and the small outpost at Sanzar Twelve."

Desslok's eyebrows went up. "When did Sanzar Twelve report in? I thought the _Argo_ would have surely devastated that world on her way out from Iscandar."

"They never did so, sir. The garrison survived."

"Why did the First Scout Group never report to me, then? Were they out of touch like the Third, Fourth and Second Scout Groups?"

"They were, sir, " said Talan.

"It's good to hear we have Terukon under our control again. Who's there?"

"Fraken, sir. He's there with about…three hundred thousand refugees from around the Great Magellenic Cloud, accompanied by a few survivors who got off Gamilon itself."

"We shall have to stop there as soon as we finish _this_ business, and see to it that the populace is escorted to Miralden." mused Desslok. "With a populace, I can reinforce our provisional capital at Miralden, even though the climate on both Terukon and Miralden was never at its best. Terukon is too far away from its star, and too cold, but we can have some people living there for about a year or so, maybe a bit longer. Miralden is better, but it is too warm, there's not enough land area, and it's not very geologically active…quite shy of the resources we need to be a major power again. Talan, what about our strength here? How much do we have left of the Grand Fleet?"

Talan winced at the application of the term "Grand Fleet" to the shrunken group that followed the rebuilt _Gamilstadt_. "To review our strength, sir, the Main Grand Fleet around this cruiser now consists of the carrier _Meruvor_, where the Terrans landed a few days ago, and the battle carrier _Garalenda_. We also still have the battleship _Terukon_, twelve escort cruisers, and eight _Z-_class destroyers. Total Main Grand Fleet strength: twenty-four ships. Further, we still have the Second Fleet and the Third Territorial Space Fleet attached to this fleet, forming the current Combined Imperial Strike Fleet. The Second Fleet, under General Krannen's command, consists of his flagship, the battleship _Paravenia_. Two carriers, namely the _Kenservar_ and the _Partend_, accompany his battleship, along with five _Z-_class destroyers. Total Second Fleet strength: eight ships. Finally, there is Kelzart's Third Territorial Fleet, from Garalenda. He has his flagship, the carrier _Eliasite_, accompanied by one regular carrier, the _Zedig_, and one battle carrier, the _Farushar_. He's down to four Z-class escorts and has had the temerity to complain about it; two of the destroyers we just lost were from his fleet! Total Third Fleet strength: seven ships. Total Grand Fleet strength: thirty-nine ships. The war with Earth hurt us, sir. When I think about what they did to Gamilon…"

"I know, Talan, but we must move on. As for what you've said about the fleet…Hmmm…you're right. It's not much. If I didn't need Kelzart so badly, I'd order him to the flagship for a conference. He has no right to complain to me; those destroyers aren't his…they're _mine_," said Desslok as he fingered his blaster. "I'll note that should he ever trouble me again. Talan, what about the lost destroyer squadron? What did they report before those space submarines got them?"

"They reported picking up and interpreting transmissions from the Rikashans, sir. Our estimate is that the enemy has about sixty or seventy warships in the region."

"If it came to a battle, we could deal with them, Talan. Our weapons, tactics, and training are superior to theirs, and this time, we have the Star Force on our side. The _Argo_ is surely equal to at least twenty capital ships, perhaps more. However, I do miss Lysis at times like these. Pity he died back at Rainbow Star Cluster, Talan. If you recall the Battle of Xenia, he defeated two hundred and fifty Xenian ships with about seventy of ours."

"Yes. That was an accomplishment, Leader Desslok."

"Did Harvna report how the Rikashan forces are disposed?"

"Yes. He said there seemed to be about twenty ships around Pellias itself, based on their transmissions. The rest of them are about a hundred lightyears away from Pellias, waiting at a location about _here_, near the Korvaci system, based on the latest movements that Harvna picked up," said Talan as he pointed at a tactical scope on the _Gamilstadt's_ bridge.

"If we rush in towards Pellias and attack the twenty ships stationed there, we can draw the rest of the Rikashan fleet into a trap of my making. Then we can exterminate it at leisure before we land there. Thus, we can wipe out this potential threat to our Empire and our outer bases, and, incidentally, we can also earn Wildstar's further appreciation and cooperation with my plans by ridding the Star Force of their enemies. To achieve this surprise, we can't notify the Star Force of our moves, of course."

"Then we attack?" asked Talan.

"Yes. Send Kelzart in to Pellias first to scout the area, would you? I think that would be a fine punishment for his daring to complain to me…especially if the order comes from you in my name."

"Of course, sir."

"Very well, Talan. See to it."

Talan saluted and left.

"Yes, Captain, we're going to have a nice little battle, soon," said Desslok as he came up towards Captain Vorkil. "I trust the space mines are ready and our SMITE mechanisms are in order?"

"Yessir. They are."

"Wonderful. Soon, Captain, we will be in yet another engagement. And soon, these Rikashans will regret that they made an enemy of Desslok of Gamilon."

And, at that, Desslok smiled.

* * *

II. SANDOR'S ANALYSIS

System XL-5

Space Battleship _Argo_

Mechanical Engineering area

Wednesday, January 13, 2202

2128 Hours-space-time **(Earth equivalent)**

* * *

As arranged, Sandor, Venture, Conroy and Nova were standing around an analysis device in Sandor's lab with Captain Wildstar, Royster and IQ-9. 

Connected to a tape player were the chips from the flight recorder from one of the damaged Gamilon destroyers.

"All right," said Sandor. "Through analysis and translation of the data in this recorder, I've been able to pick up the final moments of this vessel. It was named the _Z-759_ and its commander was apparently named Captain Harvna. From what I can make out of the Gamilon data, this battle apparently took place at around 1000 Hours on the 11th. That was over two days ago. I'll play the recording now."

Everyone listened as static came over the speakers. Then, there was a low, pulsating humming sound…the sound of the engines and ventilation system of the Gamilon destroyer this black box had been taken from.

"Captain!" cried out a rough voice. "There's another spread coming towards us, now!"

"Range?" snapped a deep voice.

"Four hundred…_gerad._ By the gods, that's too close! Evasive!"

More humming noises came over the speakers; Wildstar guessed they were the sounds of the Gamilon vessel turning. A banging sound came through the vessel's plates on the recording.

"Shockwave! They got the _Z-342_, Captain Harvna!"

"Readying aft turret, firing at area where the spread came from."

Derek then heard the distinct hissing sound of the Gamilon ship's guns going off. He almost felt sympathy for the alien combat officer as he heard him yell, "No impact, Captain! By Desslok, where are they?"

"If you don't get them, Leader Desslok will never forgive us. We'll be in disgrace."

"Comm signal!" cried out another rough, deeply accented voice. "It's the enemy commander! Voice!"

"_Geldungerad_ the signal! _Warmlische!" _barked Harvna. Sandor recognized that the translation had missed two words, probably vocabulary from the Gamilon language not in the _Argo's_ database. However, the urgency couldn't be missed.

"Gamilon scum? Are you ready to die for interfering in our affairs? We R'Khell priests of Rikasha will make sure you pay for your impudence, pus-ridden fools!"

The transmission buzzed out for a bit. Static filled the room.

"Sorry," said Sandor as he turned down the volume for a moment while watching his oscilloscope. "The chips took some damage. We lost about two minutes' worth of what happened on the destroyer. However, the rest of the message is clear."

The oscilloscope danced again and the volume came back up. "Leader Desslok, that is all we can report. These are space submarines of some kind from a nation known as Rikasha. They've destroyed my whole squadron and our reactor is overheating! I've told you our location. We will try to make a last stand and bring our data back to the Fleet."

"Harvna, it is your job to fight harder! Bring down those interlopers and return here with your data. No excuses!" replied the unmistakable voice of Desslok in cold tones.

"Yes, Leader Desslok," said Harvna. "Long Live Gamilon!" he cried as the sound of his guns went off again. Then, a loud bang, shock wave, and a few screams came over the tape. Nova hid her face in Derek's shoulder for a moment as a final pitiable scream came up, and then the speakers abruptly went silent.

"Needless to say, the data came to an abrupt end at that point," said Sandor as he shut off the audio. Around the compartment, a few people had their heads bowed in respect for their fallen allies, while others didn't think such noble thoughts.

"The R'Khells did it," said Venture. "Aren't they the fanatics Cha'rif warned us about, Wildstar?"

"Yeah, they are," said Derek.

"Fanatics," said Conroy. "Just like your wacky aunt and her crew, Nova," he said with a smirk.

"Conroy, I don't consider _her_ my aunt anymore! " snapped Nova.

"Yeah?" retorted Conroy. "Does the apple fall far from the tree, Nova?"

"What the hell do you mean _by that_?" yelled Nova, who now had her hands on her hips.

"You and Homer…sorry to tell you this, but you're both nuts in different ways," said the pilot.

"Conroy, if you were a woman, I'd ask you to come down to the gym with me!" said Nova, whose anger shocked the rest of the crew.

"Yeah? Why don't you do it anyway if you're such a rough and tough girl?"

"I just might, Fighter Captain!" bellowed Nova.

"Both of you! _Stop it now!_" roared Derek. "COOL it!"

Both Nova and Conroy stopped, but they were still looking daggers at each other.

"You're _both_ excused from this conference!" said Captain Wildstar. "Get to both of your quarters, sit down, and think about what you said to each other. We'll have a meeting at 2230 where you'll both apologize and work this out. At any rate, both of you are relieved of your duties for the rest of this watch. I'll figure out your punishments later on. Now get out of here!"

"Yessir," they said formally, looking at the deck as they saluted. Derek angrily returned their salutes and watched as they left the compartment. Neither of them looked back at the Captain.

Sorry, Nova, thought Derek. _Sauce for the goose, sauce for the gander. If I punish him, I have to punish you, too…and you were both acting like idiots. Right now, I have to act with just one thing in mind: I am the Captain of this battleship._

thought Derek.

* * *

Around 2225, Derek entered the cabin he shared with Nova. He noticed that Nova was already standing "at-ease" before his empty chair. She snapped to attention and saluted when he came in. 

"At ease, Mrs. Wildstar," said Derek after he returned her salute.

"Thank you, sir," she said in an emotionless voice. A quick look at her eyes and cheeks told Derek what had happened; she had been up here crying her eyes out.

"I'll comment later on after we're done."

"With my Captain's Mast I take it, sir?"

"No, with your counseling session. I'm trying to keep this informal, but we have to nip this in the bud fast. You damn well know that."

Nova just nodded. She stood there in silence, not looking at her husband, until 2230. At that moment, two raps came at the hatch. Nova snapped back to attention.

"Enter," snapped Wildstar.

"Captain, Lieutenant Commander Peter Conroy reporting as ordered," said Conroy as he saluted and came to attention. Captain Wildstar returned the salute and then glared at both of them.

"You two were the last two members of this crew I thought I'd see up before me for a counseling session. I think we can solve this at this level, but quite honestly, both of you have just pissed me off this evening. Both of you are officers, veterans on this ship since Day One, and you both should know better! Do you both read me loud and clear?"

"Yessir," they said.

"Pete, you started this with a comment that was quite uncalled for. I know that you and Mrs. Wildstar have some differences of opinion on religious faith. However, you can' t make snap judgments. The Lieutenant is by no means a religious fanatic, and you should know that. As a matter of fact, her faith is usually a very private matter, and not to be compared with that of Yvona Josiah. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yessir," said Conroy.

"Nova, you were damn wrong, too," said Derek. "You shouldn't have turned on Pete like that, and by no means should you have threatened to go down to the gym with him. I know what you'll say…and I don't care how insulted you are, and I don't care how Conroy feels. Now, I'm sorry we discussed our personal lives at such length last night. Our spirituality should be a private concern; we don't need to have some kind of damn schism on this battleship over your beliefs. Both of you are going to serve double shifts in succession tomorrow, and both of you are confined to your quarters tonight. Now, apologize to each other and let's end this."

"Sorry, Pete," said Nova.

"Sorry about the comments, Nova," said Conroy. "I don't know what got into me."

"Me neither, Conroy," said Nova as she shook hands with the pilot.

"Okay, you're both dismissed," said Derek. Both officers saluted and turned away from the Captain. Conroy left, but Nova remained, staring stiffly at the hatch for a moment.

"Nova, you can chill out now," said Derek.

"These are my quarters, too. Remember?" said Nova icily.

"Oh, yes. I'm sorry. Calm down."

"Don't know if I can," sniffed Nova. "He insulted _me_."

"Nova, face it, did you act like an officer?"

"No," sniffed Nova. "Guess I didn't. But I did act like a fallible human. A human who can be hurt."

"Nova, I messed up, too. I shouldn't have let religion come up at the Table tonight. I'm sorry about this."

"But it's important to you."

"But it should be kept in its place on this ship," huffed Derek. "What's been getting into us, lately? The closer we've been getting to that planet, the more on edge we've been getting. Haven't you felt it, Nova?"

"Yes…I have. I wonder what's going on? Do you think we're heading towards a trap? Is Aliscea good…or evil? I don't think she's evil."

"Maybe it's the Rikashans..." mused Derek.

Then, the ship trembled under their boots again. A moment later, the ship titled, and both of them fell to the deck.

"All you all right?" asked Derek, their argument forgotten.

Nova nodded. "We'd better go."

They got up, running out of their cabin just as the klaxons began to go off.

* * *

TO BE CONTINUED WITH ACT THREE: _A Battle of the Mind?_


	3. Chapter 3

ALTERNATE TALES OF THE STAR FORCE

STAR BLAZERS---THE ROAD TO PELLIAS

Being the fourth part of THE RIKASHA INCIDENT--- BY: Frederick P. Kopetz

* * *

ACT THREE: A BATTLE OF THE MIND?

* * *

I. CONFOUNDMENT

System XL-5

Space Battleship _Argo_

Sickbay

Thursday, January 14, 2202

0008 Hours, space-time.

* * *

"Doctor Sane," said IQ-9 in Sickbay. "We are in a battle. Doctor Sane, please put down that bottle."

"Right now I _need_ this!" screeched Sane in reply as he upended a big bottle of "Spring Water" and took a big drag. Beside him, Mimi meowed.

"No you don't," replied IQ-9.

"If you were going to operate, wouldn't you need something to steady your rotten nerves?" snapped Sane. "Thank you for the cap, Victoria," he said while a nurse put his surgical cap on his head. "Since Nova's at her post, you're going to be my anesthesiologist. Get the console ready, and tell Davis I need her."

"Yessir," said the redheaded nurse. "I just need to finish getting my gloves on. Why are you looking at my boots?"

"I've told you, I've told Veronica Davis, and I've told Nova…all you surgical nurses should wear _geta_, like me, when you operate. Easier on your feet when you stand up for hours."

"Sir, these boots are regulation, and Nova has a standing order we wear them."

"You go tell Nova I tol' her to go jump in the lake," said Sane. He took another swig from his bottle.

"I can't, sir. She's on the bridge."

"I'll tell her what you said, Doctor Sane." said IQ-9. "I want to see more of her legs, and yours, too, Kenworth."

"You shut up!" snapped Victoria. Then she screamed. "Doctor! He's _chasing _me! Tell him to stop it!"

"Ah, all is back to normal on this ship," said Doctor Sane. "IQ-9, stop it. I don't need this nurse to run down the corridor like the last one."

"Oh, darn it!" said IQ.

"Welcome to the asylum," smiled Davis as she came in. "Doctor, here's the crash cart. And please put down that bottle?"

"One more sip," he slurred.

* * *

"Nova, where's the enemy fleet?" asked Captain Wildstar.

"It'll take a moment; they've scattered some kind of chaff around their ships," said Nova as she sat down at her post and quickly strapped on her safety harness.

"Venture, keep her steady," ordered Wildstar.

"Trying," said Mark. "There's some kind of turbulence in this area, Derek."

"Spread of missiles on the way!" snapped Holly. "Big spread, to starboard!"

"Fire pulse lasers!" snapped Dash.

The pulse lasers went off for two seconds, getting most of the missiles. Two got through, but a quick turn by Venture allowed the _Argo_ to evade the missiles.

"I'm getting another message, Venture. Want to hear it? It might be a _love note_ for Rosstowski," said Homer in a very sarcastic fashion.

"Glitchman, _shove_ it!" snapped Rosstowski.

"Belay that, _both_ of you," ordered Captain Wildstar. "Homer, put the message up on the speakers."

"…_jamming_….," said "Aliscea's voice over the speakers. _"….gifted one…nasty one…there…fleet's off your bow…twelve…hit them…blow…warp out. Dagger of the mind…no match…beware…_" The transmission then broke up.

"There's no physical jamming wave!" said Homer, as he banged at the radio console. "What's causing this?" he wept.

"Dagger of the mind…" mused Nova. "If she's transmitting psychically, they must be able to jam it that way, too. And the effects…getting…headache…"

"Fight it," gasped Derek, who wasn't feeling too good himself. He was feeling nauseated. "Any sign of that fleet?"

"Some…activity…twelve megameters off th' bow…starboard," gasped Nova. "Pain…I…oh, God. My nose is bleeding."

Homer balled up his fists and screamed. "Guns…twelve..." cried Rosstowski.

Homer screamed again. Then, Rosstowski got up and slapped Homer across the face.

More missiles flew in. Only half of the pulse lasers answered the call, this time. The _Argo_ took three hits.

* * *

Viscount Vishell Ka'mok, the R'jkharraz psionic who normally commanded the R'Khell sub _Haruenda_, had decided to come into the game against his rival Cha'rif. This evil man, who had been ultimately behind the recapture of Jonathan Hartnell-Iiyama not long ago, had decided to see if he could make the principled Baron and brother psionic look bad by going after the Earth space battleship himself.

"Sir, I was in command of this task force," said Admiral Gerenze.

"Don't you cut my concentration," hissed Ka'mok as he squeezed his goatee. The black-clad priest's ugly, scarred face leered as he looked out into space. "Yes. Wonderful. All Aliscea got through to them, Gerenze, was babble. Continue to press the attack. I want the _Argo _damaged and boarded. I want as many of them alive as possible so we can sell them as slaves. Maybe I can offer some of the females as human sacrifices to the Warbringer, to boost my status with Marda."

"Commandant Minor, we are violating Cha'rif's orders by doing this. I saw Cha'rif kill Kierzden, sir. I don't want to die at his hand, too."

"Would you prefer dying at _my_ hand?" smiled Ka'mok. "Yes. Right. I thought not," smiled Ka'mok as he watched Gerenze's face go pale. "We've twenty ships here. We will bring down the _Argo _and capture the remaining members of the Star Force. Ready your planes. I will keep up my psionic attack to drive them mad. But, who, or what could be blocking me?" muttered Ka'mok. "Astrena? Surely she can't work from this far, and Aliscea…a mere child?"

At that, three plasma beams roared in towards the fleet. "Sir!" yelled a comm officer. "The _Argo_ fired! Two destroyers have been blown apart!"

"Launch those planes. Now," said Ka'mok as he began to concentrate on the _Argo's_ first bridge again. "What could be putting up that shield? They should all be screaming and acting mad and fighting and hemorrhaging from their noses now. It's one of my best attacks! What is getting in my way?"

* * *

Out of doors under the cold, grey skies outside the ruins of the Palace and Temple complex in the Pellian capital, Aliscea ignored the biting wind, shivered, and clenched her fists even harder as she concentrated upon the _Argo._ "There is a prime R'jkharraz attacking the Star Force," she whispered out loud. Pellias shook a little under her feet; she felt a small twinge of pain as a small rock came to the surface in the grey dirt and bit into her foot through the thin sole of her sandal. "I wish I could do more to help you and the Star Force, Paul…but…"

Astrena ran up towards her daughter, bundled up in a heavy cloak. "Aliscea! Why are you breaking our hold on the planet?"

"Not entirely, mother. A R'Khell _R'jkharraz_ is attacking the Star Force with a _Daren'vada_ spread. Vicious man. I have to protect the _Argo_ and Paul until they can get away."

"Not for too long. The final tremor will come if we break this. Tell them to hurry. And tell them we…have three days left. I…"

"Mother?" asked Aliscea as her mother held her nose.

"The strain's ripping me apart. Nosebleed," moaned Astrena. "Have not slept for days. Our people. Our poor people. Tell them to hurry! Bring them to Pellias now!"

"I'll ask them to come to three lightyears near Pellias. They need to recon the area. Then they can reach us later today or tomorrow."

Astrena nodded. "I'll begin to ready the evacuation. And, where are the Gamilons?"

Aliscea stood silent, concentrating on the _Argo_, concentrating psionicially so hard that flames burst from her clenched fist for a minute. They did not harm her; she had power over fire and enjoyed special protection from it. _If those Rikashans were closer…I'd set them ablaze in their ships…if we didn't have Pellias to worry about. Our poor home! And poor Paul! How can I reach them? I…oh…I know. Now I know…._

* * *

"_Paul…"_ whispered a voice in Rosstowski's mind as Sandor and Orion snapped at each other in an unusual argument. Homer was yelling over them, trying to tell Captain Wildstar that there was a flight going on between the Space Marines and five gunners down near a pulse laser deck.

"What?" whispered Paul out loud. "Who is this?"

"_Aliscea, you silly. Listen to me. You have to tell your Captain that he has to break off the battle with the Rikashans…now. They're attacking your minds, and time is running out. To be safer, warp to within four lightyears of the Beta Valentis System, to guard from the attack, and to guard from what I try soon in the area_. _We need you, Paul! I need you, so badly. I'm beginning to get ill…and we can't afford that. Mother and I are holding Pellias together. Help us! Now! People will die if you don't…_"

Paul thought "_yes…my darling_" and got up and ran over to Captain Wildstar's post, ignoring a code book that Homer threw at him.

"What's this?" yelled Derek belligerently. "You're crazy now, too?"

"No, sir," said Rosstowski, even though he looked crazy standing there with his fists clenched.

"I tol' ya, the engine can't take this!" yelled Orion in the background.

"Shut up!" snapped Sandor. "It's _not _damaged."

"That's what you think, Sandor. And all my Irish blood wants to lash out at yer Russian butt."

"You two stop it…my eyes hurt," sobbed Nova. She dabbed at her nose, which was still bleeding. The front of her uniform was now soaked with her own blood, and she was beginning to feel a little woozy.

"All of you…stop it!" barked Captain Wildstar. "One at a time. _You,_ crazy?" he snapped at Rosstowski.

Rosstowski ignored the insult, even though he had a terrible urge to run over there and punch Derek Wildstar right in the nose. "Sir, I heard from Aliscea. She said the Rikashans are causing this. She said our hope is to warp away…warp to within four lightyears of Pellias. She says the effects will stop there, and we'll be safe. She said she'll take care of the fleet."

"Yeah…she said something like that on the radio," replied Derek with a great effort. "But, as usual, Homer messed it up."

"Did not!" yelled Homer.

"Stop yer whinin', lad! The girls here have more sanity than you do, Homer," yelled Orion.

"Are you saying women are insane, you fat old chauvinist?" yelled Holly.

"Everyone, STOP IT!" yelled Derek. "Venture, set course for…TJ-231…Alpha Valentis. Take us to the edge of the system…and we'll be in the Valentis Cluster then, _Damnit_!"

"Don't talk to me like that!" snapped Venture. "You want a fight?"

"Mark…please," gasped Nova. "Listen to him."

"On _his_ side as usual," snapped Venture. "I…head feels funny. Okay." Venture raised his mike. "All hands…we are breaking off the battle. Prepare for emergency warp. Warp in one minute!"

The klaxons blew as Venture said, "Orion, power up the engine."

"It won't work…will it? I…it will. Right." Orion hastily powered up the engine as his head cleared for a minute.

"Delusions!" cried Captain Wildstar as his head cleared. "That's what was making us act like that! _All_ hands!" snapped Derek in his strongest command voice. "Ignore the compulsions and urges in your heads. Concentrate on your work! Warp in forty-five seconds! Strap in NOW!"

Rikashan planes roared in and shot at the _Argo_. Wildstar just ignored the attack.

"Warp in…thirty seconds…" said Venture with a great effort as he strapped himself in.

Rosstowski slapped Homer again and strapped the sobbing communications officer into his chair. On the other side of the bridge, Nova and Sandor were holding a screaming Holly's hands as they forcibly strapped her in. Holly screamed, "Captain, they're trying to _kill _me! Look, Nova's got a knife!"

Of course, the "knife" was just in Holly's head. She slapped Sandor and then tried to bite Nova. Nova yelled, "Shut UP! We're trying to help you, you idiot!" Holding back a strange, uncharacteristic urge to pull Holly's hair, Nova strapped her in, and then she fell to the deck, whimpering as a sudden pain hit her in the stomach. Blocking out the cramps, she crawled to her seat, strapped in, and threw her chair back into the reclining position with her feet. Then, Venture began the last of the warp countdown…and, even before the warp, Nova heard her panel laughing at her as the radar screens became giant eyes.

Nova kept her eyes open to distract herself from the bizarre feeling that her warp harness was beginning to molest her. She was relieved when everything went grey and she saw herself at her post in her wedding dress (still with a bloody nose, too) as something like fog crawled around her silk-sandaled feet. _Now this is_ normal…_for a warp_, she thought_. All those compulsions…gone now._ _Thank God!_

* * *

"What happened to the _Argo_?" yelled Gerenze on the _T'Renda_.

"She warped away! Lock on her course! NOW!" barked Ka'mok.

Screams roared over the radio as, suddenly, out in space, something like a Magna-Flame Gun blast materialized from nowhere and incinerated two Rikashan battleships and two destroyers.

"NO!" yelled Ka'mok. "The witch! Aliscea! That psi-witch is attacking _us!_ I….trying to stop it…"

And just before the _T'Renda _warped, a ball of flame exploded from nowhere with a loud thunderclap right in the middle of the bridge. Screams and burnt flesh accompanied the carrier's lurching departure into hyperspace, followed raggedly by what was left of the fleet.

* * *

Did it…thought Aliscea as she collapsed sobbing into the dust on Pellias_. I did it. Helped save the Star Force…hurt Ka'mok…I hope his carrier is damaged enough not to fight…but not so damaged I hurt the Earth child named Jonathan now imprisoned there. Tired. So tired. _She sat up, noticing dully that blood was coming out of one of her ears._ Even with the Matrix, can't overextend myself too much, while Mother and I are holding together Pellias. I hope holding together the planet and hitting that fleet together won't be the death of me. The Almighty knows that mortal flesh can only do so much…even with the Hand upon me. Just need to sleep._

thought Aliscea as she collapsed sobbing into the dust on PelliasShe sat up, noticing dully that blood was coming out of one of her ears. 

That was how Astrena found her daughter an hour later, sleeping like a refugee in the dust, near comatose

Sobbing with the effort, Astrena carried her daughter down into the ruins of the Palace. She held back pain as she carried her into a bedroom. She muttered words over her daughter, stanching the drip of blood from her ear. Then, she stripped off her dusty clothes, got a basin, bathed her sleeping twenty-year old daughter like a baby and then tenderly tucked her into bed.

You're so powerful…but so weak, physically now, thought Astrena. _Just like me. I have barely enough strength to wash your clothes by hand, poor thing. We're dying. Just like our home…our people. This strain is too great. Please, Star Force…please come._

thought Astrena.

* * *

II. OUT OF BEDLAM

Alpha Valentis System

Space Battleship _Argo_

Sickbay

Thursday, January 14, 2202

0112 Hours, space-time.

* * *

"How is she, Doctor Sane?" asked Captain Wildstar.

Not far away, Nova was sitting on a gurney in a nightdress, holding a warm cloth against her nose. "Bleeding's stopped, finally. We don't have to pack my nose." she said. "But that's another uniform ruined for the moment, at least until it gets washed," she said as she looked at her blood-soaked uniform.

"She's fine," said Doctor Sane.

Wildstar was about to ask Doctor Sane why Nova was receiving a unit of blood from an IV bottle if she was all "fine" but he thought better of it. The sickbay was filled with wounded; almost half the carnage had been from fights that had broken out on the ship during the madness. The rest had been wounded, burned, or radiation-burned during the battle. Four gurneys had sheets over them, and Derek knew they'd be holding a funeral service on deck in a few hours before arriving at Pellias.

"We have twenty-two wounded," said Doctor Sane. "We took a beating in that battle."

"Yes, we sure did," said Captain Wildstar. Venture came in a moment later. "How's Holly?" he asked.

"Getting her wrist fixed, Mark," said Nova.

"Thanks. What went wrong today?'

"Simple. They attacked us psionicially," said Derek. "Now, I'm more discouraged than ever. How are we going to do this? How are we going to get to Pellias?"

"One more warp and we're there, Wildstar," said Mark. "Maybe Aliscea can help explain some kind of defense when she sees us."

"Paul said she said something about guarding us," said Nova. "Maybe she'll be our defense?"

"Could be," said Venture.

* * *

III. ARRIVAL

Alpha Valentis System

Space Battleship _Argo_

Main Deck

Thursday, January 14, 2202

0718 Hours, space-time.

* * *

Rabbi Greenberg's final prayers resounded over the headsets of the assembled crew of the _Argo_ as a group of pallbearers reverently cast four space caskets over the rail into the Sea of Stars while an honor guard fired their AK-01 rifles into space. After a moment of silence, a solemn musical version of _Scarlet Scarf_, a song popular during the first mission to Iscandar, played over their headsets as every member of the Star Force saluted. The song was remembered well, both as a song of celebration, and a song of mourning. Today, it was a song of mourning. As it played, the veterans remembered the long journey to Iscandar, and those who had died during that journey. Finally, the song ended, and there was silence again for a moment as the crew held their salutes, based upon an old American Civil War salute, and then came to attention again.

"It is my request," said Wildstar as he stood alone atop the _Argo's_ #1 gun turret in his space gear, "that those three men and one woman who died in battle today should be remembered as long as we continue our journey towards Pellias. Save for God's grace, those could have been any one of us who remain." In silence, he snapped an honor salute as the caskets drifted away from the ship, holding the salute until the caskets disappeared.

"All hands…" said Wildstar a moment later. "We will warp at 1000. Our destination will be the edge of the Beta Valentis System. After scanning the area, and seeing if there is any opposition, and, if so, taking care of it, we will warp to Pellias at 1300 Hours. Then, we shall begin our landing. At last, ladies and gentlemen of the Star Force, our goal is in sight. Before our final warp to Pellias, after the final battle, if there is one, we will meet on the starboard side observation deck. I shall see you again there. I trust that every one of you will be with us again at that hour. At that time…after one of the hardest weeks we have been through, we shall be ready to complete the first part of our mission. You have been a fine crew…and I thank you all."

Every crew member saluted as Wildstar got down of the turret and walked back into the ship. "All hands!" snapped Venture as Deputy Captain and XO. "Get to your stations. I want us shipshape for that second-to-last warp."

They saluted Venture, and then broke ranks. Everyone was eager to return to their jobs…and they returned with a new dedication, knowing that if anyone made a mistake…they might join the shipmates they had just buried.

* * *

END.

To be continued...


End file.
